Over 300 workers and organizers are meeting in Washington DC February 12th and 13th to present a national workers platform. They will be there to respond to the President's State of the Union, attend the Senate Hearing on Immigration and present at a House Listening session for undocumented workers. (Platform is also in Spanish.)

Every day, millions of immigrant workers go to work in restaurants, factories, construction sites, private homes, office buildings, and every imaginable workplace in the United States. It is difficult to imagine how any industry would function without the immigrant workforce. We are building this nation and the economy while building a life and community here. Every worker in this country is deeply woven into the fabric of the nation and the economy. Every worker who is here deserves to be on an inclusive road to citizenship. And, every worker who will come to this country in the future deserves basic rights and dignity in the workplace. It is for these reasons that immigrant workers working in dozens of industries across the country have joined together to launch this campaign for an inclusive citizenship.

This moment of immigration reform offers an historic opportunity to bring 11 million undocumented immigrants out of the shadows into full participation in American life and the economy. We will no longer be intimidated by unscrupulous employers who use our undocumented status to keep us from speaking out against workplace abuse for fear of deportation. We have witnessed how broken immigration laws have served employers who drive conditions lower and prevent workers from improving our worksites or affirming our rights. Current immigration laws in the service of unscrupulous employers create a detrimental impact for all workers no matter where one was born. We believe meaningful immigration reform is central to transforming low-wage jobs into living wage, sustainable jobs with dignity.

The United Workers Congress brings is made up of immigrant workers organizations from across the country who have fought for decades to protect the rights of low wage undocumented workers who have faced exclusion from labor protections and denied the basic human rights to decent work, fair compensation and a safe and healthy work environment. We represent millions of domestic workers, farm workers, day laborers, taxi drivers, workfare, restaurant, guest workers and formerly incarcerated who are ready for full inclusion.

As immigrant workers, we will be at the center of this legislative process. As the people on the front lines of the changes that will come out of the policy process, immigrant workers should help shape the discussion. We are dedicated to achieving a meaningful reform that starts with a suspension of deportations and leads to the inclusion of all the 11 million who call this country home.